Insights on hiring and careers
Practical notes on hiring, recruitment, and building a career. Written by people who do this every day.
Hiring overseas employees from Australia
Contractor or employee, super and PAYG offshore, the 482 visa and Sydney time zones, with the official sources.
Hiring remote professionals from Latin America for Canada
CPP and EI for staff abroad, the CRA status test, paying in USD or CAD, Quebec's Law 25 and the 2026 clock changes, with sources.
Hiring remote professionals from Latin America for Ireland
Contractor or employee status with Revenue, PRSI for staff abroad, GDPR data transfers, paying in EUR or USD, and time zones, with sources.
Why Costa Rica, honestly: the case and the caveats
A balanced summary of why companies choose Costa Rica for nearshore teams, and the situations where another country is the better answer.
Recruitment agency, RPO, or in house: which one do you need?
The practical differences between contingency recruiters, retained search, RPO, and hiring in house, with an honest view of when each is the wrong choice.
Red flags when hiring overseas, and how to avoid a bad hire
The warning signs that predict a failed international hire, on both the candidate side and your own process, and what to do about each.
Reducing turnover in your Costa Rica team
Why remote and nearshore teams lose people, what actually drives retention in the Costa Rican market, and the fixes that cost less than replacement.
Onboarding an international hire so they actually stay
The first ninety days decide whether a remote international hire becomes productive or becomes a vacancy again. A practical onboarding plan.
Reference checks: how to do them so they are worth doing
Most reference checks are a formality that confirms nothing. Here is how to run one that surfaces real information, and what you may lawfully ask.
Interview questions that actually predict performance
Which interview questions carry real signal, which are theatre, and how to follow up so you get evidence instead of a rehearsed answer.
Structured interviews: the cheapest way to hire better
Unstructured interviews barely predict performance. Here is how to run structured interviews, why they work, and how to implement them without bureaucracy.
Executive search in Costa Rica: how senior hiring is different
Why executive searches in Costa Rica run differently from other roles, how confidentiality works in a small market, and what a realistic process looks like.
Hiring finance and accounting talent in Costa Rica
Why Costa Rica works well for finance shared services, which profiles are available, what to assess beyond technical skill, and where the competition is.
Hiring IT and engineering talent in Costa Rica: what to expect
The realistic picture of Costa Rica technology hiring: where the depth is, where it is thin, what it costs, and how to run a process engineers respect.
Hiring bilingual customer service teams in Costa Rica
What to look for, how to assess it, what drives turnover, and how to build a support team in Costa Rica that stays.
How long hiring actually takes in Costa Rica
Realistic timelines for filling a role in Costa Rica, stage by stage, what stretches them, and how to compress the process without lowering the bar.
How to write a job description that attracts the right people
Most job descriptions repel good candidates. Here is how to write one that filters correctly, reads honestly, and gets stronger applicants.
The Costa Rica time zone advantage, and why it matters more than you think
Costa Rica runs on Central Standard Time year round with no daylight saving. Here is what that does to collaboration, coverage, and hiring for North American companies.
Bilingual talent in Costa Rica: what employers should actually expect
How deep the English speaking talent pool in Costa Rica really is, where it is concentrated, how to assess it properly, and what it costs.
Employer of record or direct hire in Costa Rica: how to choose
When an employer of record makes sense in Costa Rica, when setting up your own entity is better, and the real trade-offs in cost, control, and risk.
How to hire remote workers in Latin America without getting it wrong
A practical process for building a remote team in Latin America: choosing a country, classifying the relationship, paying people legally, and keeping them.
Nearshore staffing in Costa Rica: an honest comparison
How Costa Rica compares to other nearshore and offshore destinations for customer service, IT, and back office roles, including where it is not the right answer.
Costa Rica labour law: the basics every employer should know
A plain guide to Costa Rican employment rules for foreign employers: contracts, working hours, vacation, aguinaldo, termination, and just cause.
What it actually costs to hire an employee in Costa Rica
Gross salary is only part of the cost of a Costa Rican hire. How employer contributions, the thirteenth month, vacation, and severance stack on top of it.
Hiring in Costa Rica: a practical guide for foreign companies
What foreign employers need to know before hiring in Costa Rica: contracts, mandatory benefits, payroll contributions, timelines, and the mistakes that cost the most.